The Pittsburgh Americans or Pittsburgh Amerks were a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team based in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

from 1936 until 1937. The team was a member of the major-league American Football League and participated in the league's 1936 and 1937 seasons.

History

When plans for the league were announced on November 12, 1935, fifteen cities bid for charter franchises for the new league. On April 11, 1936, Pittsburgh and seven other cities were awarded franchises. The Americans were organized by Dick Guy, a sports editor and business manager for the then- Pittsburgh Pirates of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Rudy Comstock Rudolph S. Comstock (September 23, 1900 – November 1, 1975) was an American football player who played eleven seasons in the National Football League, for the Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Bulldogs, Frankford Yellow Jackets, New York Giants and Gr ...

who played for five teams in the NFL, was then named the team's coach. The Amerks played all of their home games at Pittsburgh's

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

. The team was to have played at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

; however, the deal to lease the school's facilities fell through. The Amerks were able to purchase a lighting system from a circus. The Amerks' first-ever league game was played on October 4, 1936 against the

Syracuse Braves The Syracuse Braves were a professional American football team that competed in the second American Football League in 1936 and 1937. Coached by Don Irwin and Red Badgro, the Braves played in Municipal Stadium, which had a capacity of only abo ...

at MacArthur Stadium. Pittsburgh rallied to win the game 27-16. The team's first season resulted in a winning record and a fourth-place finish for the Americans with a record of 3-2-1. The Americans were also not without stars: they signed former Pittsburgh Pirates' Ben Smith and

Loran Ribble Lorenzo Thomas Ribble, Jr. (March 28, 1907 – November 3, 1943) was a professional football player in the National Football League for the Portsmouth Spartans, Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played in the second American Footb ...

. However, the team's performance on the field didn't mirror that of ticket sales and attendance. The Americans finished last in the league for attendance, averaging only 2500 spectators in attendance for home games at Forbes Field. However, the team drew large crowds on the road against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Rochester Tigers The Rochester Tigers were a professional American football team that competed in the second American Football League in 1936 and 1937. Owned by Mike Palm (who doubled as coach) and Harry Newman, the Tigers were originally awarded to Rochester ...

and Boston Shamrocks. While the Americans survived their first season, the team was folded after the third game of the 1937 season. The team played its first game at Forbes Field against the

Los Angeles Bulldogs The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948 (the last year as the Long Beach Bulldogs). Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937 (and turned down in favor of ...

, which resulted in a 21-0 Bulldogs win.

Jess Quatse Jesse A. Quatse (April 4, 1908 – December 26, 1977) was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the New York Giants. In 1927, he coached the Pittsburgh American ...

, a former stand-out for the

Pitt Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

, served as the team's coach. The rest of the league would cease operations at the end of season.

References

{{Pittsburgh sports

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

Defunct American football teams in Pennsylvania American football teams in Pittsburgh American football teams established in 1936 American football teams disestablished in 1937 1936 establishments in Pennsylvania 1937 disestablishments in Pennsylvania

History

See also

References